‘The Escape’ Trailer: Clive Owen Stars in Neill Blomkamp’s BMW Film

Dakota Fanning, Jon Bernthal and Vera Farmiga co-star.

Remember those short films Clive Owen appeared in for BMW way back when? Well, we’re about to get another one: “The Escape,” which Owen will star in alongside Dakota Fanning, Jon Bernthal and Vera Farmiga. Neill Blomkamp (“District 9,” “Chappie”) is directing the branded short film, the first trailer for which has been released.

“The Hire,” a series of eight short films helmed by the likes of Wong Kar-wai, Ang Lee, Guy Ritchie, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo and Tony Scott, first premiered in 2001. One might reasonably argue that the project had much to do with the English actor’s subsequent success on this side of the pond; his roles in “The Bourne Identity,” “Closer” and “Sin City” all came about within a few years of it.

“I just think it was a brilliant idea originally,” Owen says of the ongoing series in a behind-the-scenes video (below). “They’re serious pieces of work. They’re short films, but they’re serious filmmakers doing what they do best.” “The Escape” will premiere on BMWFilms.com on October 23.